"Fool!" Sendai cried. "You dare to defy me?!"

Her opponent remained quiet as a tomb as Sendai brandished her mighty weapon and snarled with infernal rage. "You will die today! Rubbed out like the little useless garbage you are!"

Without mercy, the Drow attacked. As she put the detergent on the floor and applied the rag, the black bootsmudge finally started to disappear.

"Stupid priestesses," Sendai muttered as she scrubbed. "What kind of inconsiderate iblith goes to church with wet boots on?"

When the stain was finally gone, Sendai rose to her feet, wiped the sweat from her brow and returned her mop to her cart. She felt a touch of pride as she surveyed the chapel of Lolth she had just cleaned from top to bottom. The chapel wasn't very large, like those of the bigger houses, but it was still the pride of House Xyniyz, seventeenth House of Che'ed Rodorb. After a whole morning of work, the statues were once again presentable, the caked blood had been removed from the altar, the pews had been picked clean and the marble floor was, once again, shining.

She had worked extra hard today, so she could add to her meager free hours. Two weeks ago, after she had finished, a group of spiders had run through the chapel chasing a surface cat which had escaped from the market-place. Of course, the spiders had run through a puddle and dragged their muddy legs all over her clean floor.

Unfortunately, she had not been able to clean the floor in time for services... One speck of dirt had remained in a faraway corner, and the Matron had deemed it fit to punish her for her laziness. She still felt a stab of pain on her back ever so often where the whip had hit her. Still, she considered herself lucky. She knew the Matron was into bondage, so her 'crime' could have been punished in worse a matter.

Still, Sendai felt a stinging pang when she realized her hard work was always negated by the sloppy priestesses. They showed very little consideration for her labors. One service was enough to sully up the place again. They spit on the floor, dropped their garbage wherever they pleased, just swung the blood from the sacrifices all over the chapel and killed their lovers of the week and left them to bleed out for hours. You'd think these priestesses would show more respect in the house of their goddess.

Oh, and the orgies... how she hated to clean up after those messy priestesses after the monthly orgies.

Packing in her cart, she guided it to the entrance, taking a moment to look over her shoulders, right into the eyes of the statue of Lolth, which was mounted above the altar. She didn't believe in Lolth herself... The spider queen had never done anything for her to deserve her worship. Worship of Lolth only brought her trouble. Her mother had been a low-ranking commoner priestess of House Xyniyz, whom had experienced the unusual crime of a male forcing himself upon her about forty years ago. Sendai was the product of that union, and in a civilization bent on selective breeding, she was the lowest of the low, a pariah... and as a pariah, she had learned how not to be noticed.

Commoners blended into the background, pariahs even moreso. Sendai often cleaned the quarters of the noble sisters of the house, and they didn't even seem to mind that she was in the room cleaning, while the sisters made their plans and worked out their conspiracies. Perhaps they thought her insignificant, or too little of mind to even realized what they were talking about. But Sendai listened... and learned.

Sendai always walked through the corridors unnoticed, unseen, until she earned a priestess' ire for some transgression or whim, at least.

Her mother could only regain her status when she would track down the male whom had attacked her and brought back his head to present to the sister-priestesses. After Sendai was born, her mother had left, leaving her daughter to fend for herself... so far, after forty years, her mother still had not returned.

Sendai spend her childhood being raised by Velox, the kindly cleaner whom had adopted her when nobody else cared about a pariah Drow baby. The priestesses did not even consider Sendai for sacrifice... 'The goddess would be insulted by such a meager sacrifice' Sendai often thought bitterly. 'Well, Lolth,' Sendai often thought, 'If I'm too little for you, you're too little for me.'

Watch and learn, little Sendai, watch and learn, Velox had always told her. He was satisfied with his lot in life, but he always thought Sendai had potential. He always believed that she would rise above her station. Her being female was enough reason to believe that. In his long life, Velox had known of every coup, attempted coups, knew the particulars behind every mysterious death, knew of every personal alliance and knew of all the secrets the Matrons of House Xyniyz, just from being quiet, listening and avoiding to be noticed. Only he had never been able to do anything with it.

Velox died when Sendai was twenty, old enough to fend for herself. She liked to believe Velox clung to life long enough to make sure of that, but she couldn't know for sure.

Finally, she arrived at the place she called home. She opened a door in the obsidian wall and parked her cart inside, before entering the broomcloset she lived in. It was a small room, yet offering enough room for the cart, a small bed, a small cupboard and a washbowl. Still, there were some minor decorations in her room, and thankfully, there was a tiny window with a nice view of the center of the city. A small drawing she had made herself hung on her wall, a nicely adorned magic lamp brought some light into the dark room. A small statuette of a dancing female stood on the nightstand. These, aside from the clothes on her back, were her only worldly possessions.

"Larriaz?" Sendai called out. She knew the spider couldn't have gotten far and, soon enough, the happily chirping giant spider lowered herself from the ceiling.

"Ah, there you are," Sendai smiled when she threw herself on her bed. "Been a long day."

Larriaz nodded sympathetically.

"So, find any giant bugs to eat?" Sendai asked.

Larriaz seemed to sigh.

"You're not having much luck either then, ey?" Sendai said and reached over to her nightstand, taking a bit of dried meat and breaking it in half. She had been sharing her meager food with this spider ever since she had found that a spider had suddenly decided to move into the broomcloset and had no intention of leaving.

"Almost out of food," Sendai muttered.

Larriaz seemed to be thinking again?!.

"Yes, again," Sendai sighed and rolled on her back. "I have to make another trip to the marketplace later."

The money Sendai was given was for cleaning supplies alone, yet there were some grateful commoners living in-house who, at times, did reward her for her hard work. But now, she had other concerns on her mind.

Smiling, she activated a spell, negating the invisibility-spell she had put up earlier. Three books appeared under her bed. Making sure the door was locked, Sendai lay on her stomach and opened the one of the magic books, while taking notes in her own spellbook.

Velox had taught her to read and write, and, one day, while cleaning the Archmage's library, she had found out that the elderly mage was forgetful and often confused, so, she found it easy to take a book from a shelf and return it later. The archmage never knew, and he never noticed her browsing his library from the corner of her eye.

The spellbook she had stolen from the market-place, again nobody had noticed her.

She loved magic and the study of magic. Already she figured she was making good progress : she could already make full use of her innate magics, as well cast simple spells. But she wanted more, and was eager to learn. Excitedly, she found a new spell in one of the Archmage's books. Eagerly, she started to copy the spell into her own spellbook. Being a self-trained mage without any experience as an apprentice or without any guidance, she knew she was walking a thin and dangerous line by learning and experimenting with these arcane powers, but she knew she had to take the risk or remain an impoverished maid forever.

She felt a single tear run down her cheek. Gravity finally captured it, making it fall upon her spellbook. Larriaz was upon her immediately looking on with concern, and Sendai smiled, reaching out with her hand to pet her only and truest friend.

"I'm fine, Larriaz," Sendai smiled. "I just... just so much want to be noticed..."

"That seems like a long time ago, doesn't it Larriaz?" Sendai asked as she flipped through her diary, before putting it back on the shelf. She and her friend, the spider Larriaz, were located in Melissan's secret fortress, located deep within the Marching Mountains, hidden from view by powerful magics.

"I still can't get over how big this room is!" Sendai raved as she jumped on top of her bed and let herself bounce flat on her back. Immediately, she spread her limbs, delighted that they didn't collide with any walls, carts or giant spiders.

Sendai took a soft silken pillow and pressed it against her cheek. It was so soft, much better than her hard bed. But not just that : now she had huge windows looking out over the mountains, a giant queen-sized bed with silken drapes, her own bathroom with golden faucets, her very own writing desk, and giant bookshelves...

"Those bookshelves still look a bit lame, don't you think Larriaz?" Sendai said, looking at the three lone books at the very end of the middle shelf : her spellbook, her diary, and the one lone arcane reference-book which she had swiped from the archmage at the time that she left her city.

"Are you ever listening to me?" Sendai asked when she noticed the spider was rummaging in her basket, sinking her fangs into a spun-in giant beetle and feasting away.

"Guess not," Sendai said. "I guess coming to the surface was a good thing, but I wish Melissan would tell me what she expects of me. What if she asks things of me I don't want to do?"

Larriaz seemed to look up from her meal, staring intently at Sendai.

"Yeah," Sendai sighed. "You're right. It's better than dying..."

As Sendai pushed her cart from her closet to the temple to start her cleaning, she felt her muscles ache with fatigue, since she had not been sleeping well the past few months, and it was taking a heavy toll on her. Not enough sleep, an excruciating dayjob and practising her magic in the evenings usually did that to a person. Still, Sendai had long passed the 'minor cantrip'-stage and was now moving on to more powerful spells... all in secret, of course. For a pariah like her, possessing such forbidden knowledge would mean her death.

Stifling a yawn, Sendai took a full bucket, tossed some soap into it and started to polish the altar like she always did... but this time, her arms just wouldn't cooperate. Her eyelids felt like lead, her arms like granite... sleep was beckoning her.

And still, that filled her with dread... She had been having dreams, about war, and chaos and murder. A war scarred... something... land without a roof. Amidst it all stood a tall red-haired powerful looking human slave-woman, for could humans be anything else than slaves?

The woman whispered to her, promises of power supreme. Her words touched a cord in her, a deep chord. But something in the woman's manner, not so much her voice or promises, frightened her to no end.

Suddenly, Sendai awoke with a start... she seemed to have dozed off while scrubbing the altar, and the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was the Matron's pew, where she rested between sermons. It was the only softly padded pew in the small chapel, and its softness was alluring.

Sendai should have known better, but she was simply so tired. She figured she would be able to take a small catnap and awaken a few minutes later to finish her work, and laid herself down on the soft, fluffy pillow of the Matron's Pew, and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Suddenly, her whole body seemed to hurt as she found herself lying on cold obsidian stone. Looking up, she saw black ornate leather boots. Her entire being filled with dread... she had been on the receiving end of those boots enough times to recognize that they belonged to Matron Tegrina.

"FILTH!" the Matron screeched. "You piece of REFUSE!"

Sendai gulped, she had committed one of the ultimate sins : moving above her station by making use of the Matron's pew. Instantly, sharp pain exploded in her belly as the Matron kicked her hard. Sendai's body spasmed as she cried out... and accidentally knocked over her bucket. The soapy water spread out over the floor, and splashed against the Matron's boots.

"You..." the Matron snarled in unbelievable anger. "You did that on purpose!"

Sendai closed her eyes. Her life was over...

She found herself hoisted up by the larger woman, and thrown onto the slab. The Matron raised her to her face to look her victim in the eye. A sadistic grin crossed her features. "Sacrifice is too noble a death for you... and you're not worth drawing a dagger for."

Sendai felt two strong hands grip tightly across her neck. Gasping for air, she found herself being laid across the altar, and still the grip did not lessen. Black spots started to appear in front of her eyes... this would be the end, she knew it. Her spirit would be freed, her body would end up being thrown on the rubbish-heap outside the House with the other refuse, her meager but beloved possessions destroyed... 'Larriaz, who will take care of Larriaz?!' was her last thought before she started to fade to black.

Then, flailing her arms, she felt the barrel of the Holy Mace of Lolth, a temple artifact kept on the altar for ceremonial purposes. Suddenly, she heard the voice of the woman, the woman from her dreams. Soft, melodic and deceptive, she spoke : Do it!

Those two words resounded through the skull of the dying Sendai... it was a chance of life, however slim. She felt her hand clasp the barrel, and with all her might...

Sendai never knew exactly how it happened, or how she summoned the strength to get the heavy mace off the altar. All she heard was the sound of metal grinding into bone. The force of grip on Sendai's throat lessened to nothing, and the terrified Sendai dared to open her eyes.

She saw the Matron, fighting a losing battle to remain alive. The sharp edge of the mace had entered her skull, and the whole thing hung from the side of her head, the whiteness of her hair rapidly polluted with crimson. In an instant, the Matron's face was permanently locked in a state of disbelief... then, she slowly slumped over, almost crushing Sendai on the altar. In a state of panic, Sendai screamed and pushed the body way, sending it limply rolling from the altar, and off the three steps in front of it..

There she lay : Matron Tegrina, butcher of surface-elves, destroyer of no less than five rival Houses, the woman who had killed her six sisters to earn her place as Matron... She lay dead at the hands of a cleaning-maid.

Sendai rubbed her sore throat, her larynx having come close to being utterly crushed by the angry Matron. Still, panic gripped her.

Though Tegrina's daughter would no doubt be happy with her mother's death, she would make an example of Sendai to solidify her rule and keep the commoners in fear. And in her House, that would mean a lengthy session of public torture...

You cannot stay, she heard the woman's voice in her head. Your destiny lies elsewhere. Find me on the surface. Find me... take the western passage, where there is an exit close to the surface. We will be waiting for you...

Sendai looked at the dead eyes of the Matron, malicious even in death. She had no future here.

As she pushed her cart through the halls of the House, she hoped nobody would notice the sweat running down her forehead. Inside her cart, wrapped tightly in the blanket from her bed, was the Matron. After carefully cleaning the mace and replacing it, Sendai had cleaned the bloodstains from the floor. If Sendai had learned anything, it was how to clean...

Luckily, it was still early and this particular wing of the House compound was all but deserted. She quickly came upon the old well, which had run dry about five years ago, but nobody had bothered to fill it up.

After checking if the coast was clear, Sendai struggled to get the heavy body out of the cart and lay it across the edge of the well. Forcing herself to calm down, Sendai waved her hands in arcane gestures, finally putting her magic to good use. The blanket was replaced by an illusion of rock. Slightly relieved, Sendai pushed the body into the well, where it landed with a dull thud.

Sendai was safe for now, but she know it would only be a matter of time until they found the body... and then it would be a short time before spells were used to find the culprit... she had to get as much distance between herself and the city as possible.

Sendai sped towards her own room, and quickly started putting her meager possessions in her bag. The books, the lamp, the drawings... she spent a little extra time staring at the statuette of the dancing female Velox had given her before reverently putting it in her bag too. Standing in the hallway, she stared back at Larriaz. The two had been friends for ages, relied upon each other... The question needn't be asked. The two of them left their home forever.

"The rest is history," Sendai said while resting on her silken bed. Sendai and Larriaz had gone to the market to pawn the jewels she had stolen from Tegrina's body and to use the money to buy herself rations, new clothes, a walking staff and a grey travelling cloak

They had left the city and walked on for days, not daring to rest. But every step frightened both of them more and more. Neither had ever been to the surface, and neither knew what to expect of this vague promise that she would be waited for. Still, it was a chance... at home, death would be the only thing welcoming them. Larriaz and Sendai found solace in a shared fear.

That is how they met Melissan... And the Four, now the Five. She still didn't know what to make of this whole Bhaal-mess, though, but she felt she was given the opportunity to expand on her knowledge of magic... and Melissan seemed to have plans for her, and the other Four. For now, it didn't matter. Her belly was full and she was safe.

A brief shout from outside disturbed her from her reverie. After investigation, she found that one of the servant-women was having trouble getting a boot-stain off the slick floor. Grumbling, Sendai took the sponge from the baffled servant and started to scrub, muttering to herself that nobody was dedicated to their job anymore these days.

"That is your newest member?" Illasera snorted as she and Melissan were looking into the scrying bowl hidden within Melissan's private quarters. "She's cleaning up for the maid. She'd hardly make an convincing warlord."

"She's a diamond in the rough," Melissan smiled. "Very naive, easy to manipulate. I need only awaken the Bhaal-essence within her."

"You've tried before with more elven Bhaalspawn and failed," Illasera snorted.

"Elven Bhaalspawn are hard to control, but Sendai is a Drow," Melissan smiled. "I don't need to play her essence, merely saying that I would provide for her magic studies was enough to tempt her. Besides, the Drow mercenaries are more eager to follow one of their fellows in battle instead of a human commander."

"There are only two elven Bhaalspawn left in the world," Illasera said, absentmindedly petting her dagger. "I made sure of that. They gave me quite a chase, but instinct won out... like it always does."

"We have our own elven Bhaalspawn now, and it's good to have her here," Melissan said. "If 'instinct' claims the others, her spirit will keep reason in and Bhaal's influence out."

"So, now that she's here," Illasera smiled, "I take you've given up on recruiting Leafwalker?"

"That despicable Harper!" Melissan shouted. "That senile old man!"

"Gorion again?" Illasera smiled. The mere mention of that name would send waves of anger through Melissan's being.

"Yes, GORION!" Melissan snarled. "Even in death, his vigil spirit keeps me out of her mind!"

"Don't pop a vein," Illasera chuckled briefly, much to Melissan's dismay.

"Just as well, perhaps," Melissan said. "She would have been difficult to control. Almost as difficult as you..."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Illasera glowered.

Melissan ignored her inquiry and waved her hands over the scrying-bowl. "Let's not dwell on Leafwalker. We will soon enter a critical phase. The destruction of the children of Bhaal is at hand. These minor Bhaalspawn are rats, vermin... you five are my chosen, all others will die for the glory of Bhaal!"

"As long as you let me kill," Illasera grinned. "I've tracked down three Bhaalspawn at Clover's ridge... They made this delightful splat when I threw..."

"Spare me the details of your gory hobby, Illasera," Melissan snarled. "And get rid of those heads you collected."

"Say," Illasera said. "When will you let me ice Leafwalker? Do you think I can take her head or will her body dissolve?"

"Most likely dissolve," Melissan said. "She's one of the most powerful Bhaalspawn around. Maybe the most powerful one, who's not been driven mad by her essence."

Illasera glowered. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Anyway," Melissan said, ignoring Illasera again, "Sendai will probably remain a loose cannon. So I think we need to get her among her people as quickly as possible, and I know how..."

"WE WERE talking about LEAFWALKER!" Illasera snarled. "She took Sarevok from me! It took me months to infiltrate the Iron Throne. I was in the throne-room... I had a crossbow aimed for his head! It would have been the crown and glory of all my hunts... and then Leafwalker with her band of merry fools rushes in where angels fear to tread and ruin it all..."

"Fine," Melissan said. "We have to deal with her later on anyway..."

Suddenly, Melissan gasped as she felt something cold and sharp pressed into her throat. The glint of an obsidian dagger reached her eyes just before Illasera pulled back Melissan's head by her hair. "I know you wish to betray them," she whispered. "Well, just don't do that to me... Or I might just change my mind and take all of Bhaal's essence to take godhood for myself, Melissan..."

That said, Illasera withdrew the dagger, and slinked into the shadows.

"They're... all so big, Larriaz," Sendai whispered to the spider as the both of them stood before the rest of the Five. There was Illasera, a tall leather-clad woman, with a skin as pale as a sheet of paper and hair and eyes as black as night. The fiery haired giant Yaga Shura towered over her, looking on her with disdain. Abazigal, a blue-skinned dragon in human form snorted once, and Balthazar, a young monk with a shaved head looked upon her impassively.

Nervously, feeling very, very, very intimidated by all this people, much taller and stronger than she was, she stepped forward to greet them. "Errr, hi..." was her monumental greeting, spoken in broken common.

"This is our newest member?" Yaga Shura chuckled. "One bite and she's gone! HAH!"

"Another inferior race with claims of power," Abazigal snorted. "Only dragons should carry the divine."

Balthazar said nothing, but turned his back and walked away again. Illasera just stared, and Sendai felt as if the woman was sizing her up, looking for weaknesses. These people certainly did remind her of her Drow kin : Arrogant, mean and exploitative.

"Do not worry," Melissan, the tall red-haired woman spoke in a seemingly caring tone. Caring perhaps, but she had underestimated Sendai, for the Drow could hear the harshness behind her words. "You'll fit in eventually. For now, I want you to meet someone."

Three Drow stepped from the shadows, and for a moment, Sendai thought that they had come to drag her back home... but they wore no rank-insignias. They were rogues, just like her. One, the lone female seemed to be the leader of the group. The female was all of two heads taller than Sendai and wore robes in the colors of Lolth. Without warning, the tall female sank to her knees and reverently bowed her head.

"Mistress," the female spoke. "You who are of divine blood. I am Diaytha, missionary of Lolth on the surface."

"Errm," Sendai said. "Please get up."

"Mistress?" Diaytha said, a pained look crossing her features. "You do not wish me to serve you, but... you are touched by the gods in a way that I can not be... I... I want to touch the divine in you. You are a living part of a god!"

Not wanting to disappoint, Sendai spoke : "Err, well, you're kneeling in a puddle..."

"Oh?" Diaytha said, and suddenly felt her wet knees for the first time. "OH!"

"Don't worry," Sendai said. "You just need some detergent on those stains. Stop by my room a little later and I'll handwash those robes for you. Be done while you wait!"

Diaytha blinked briefly. "Yes... of course, mistress. Thy will be done."

And later, when Sendai was lovingly handwashing the robes in her tub in her room, she shared a look with Larriaz. "Dear, friend," she said. "This place is a fruit-bin."

They wanted her to conquer the world... she'd rather just do their laundry and clean their floors. At least it was an arena she was familiar with.